For children who rarely venture past the several blocks that encompass their neighborhood or school, the notion of an electron accelerator may seem as farfetched as piloting a spaceship to Jupiter. But for legions of local middle-school students, Jefferson Lab's Becoming Enthusiastic About Math and Science program (BEAMS) has opened entirely new landscapes of the mind and imagination.

Proof of the program's effectiveness came earlier this year with the issuance of Standards of Learning (SOL) scores for the first group of SOL-tracked middle schoolers to have participated in consecutive BEAMS courses in sixth, seventh and eighth grades. The percentage of eighth-grade students passing the SOL math test more than doubled, from 24 to 49 percent. The increase was also striking in the science component of the exam: 65 percent in 1999 passed, versus 46 percent in 1998.

"You see the kids and how they react. You hear their stories," says Jan Tyler, JLab's science education manager. "They definitely remember the experiences they've had at the Lab. But when you deal with the taxpayers or anybody else who wonders where the money is going, it helps to have results in black and white to prove that you're accomplishing what you say. We're hopeful scores will increase even more this coming year."

During its first year, in 1991, the BEAMS program welcomed seven classes over a 12 week period. The program has grown over the years and presently offers 60 classes throughout the entire school year, as well as a variety of summer activities.

Volunteering Is Key

During the academic year, for five consecutive days during school hours, the students and their teachers are immersed in Lab-related science and math events and activities conducted with the help of volunteer scientists, engineers and technicians. Courses are presented in an on-site classroom, outdoors, in the staff cafeteria, in laboratories, at assembly areas and within the accelerator site. A family night is held for the participating students' families to reinforce the BEAMS experience.

BEAMS students make aluminum foil boats and test them as part of their Design and Engineering activity.

In all, some 14,000 students and 300 teachers from area school divisions in Newport News, Hampton, Williamsburg/James City County and York County have participated in the program. "The kids really get excited," says Steve Gagnon, a BEAMS science education technician who's been with program seven years. "You get to use stuff and do things that you usually can't in school. Kids get to see that scientists aren't geeks in white lab coats, but people with interesting lives who do fun work."

According to manager Tyler, the key to BEAM's success is the willingness of Lab staff to donate their time as program teachers, presenters and guides. Without this 100-plus-and-growing volunteer corps, BEAMS' luster would quickly dim. "The BEAMS staff is a small part of this," she says. "Without our Lab volunteers we wouldn't have a program. They're the ones that make BEAMS happen."

Enthusiastic evaluation results have sparked the "BEAMS at Siemens" program, a replica of the Lab's program, at Siemens, Inc. in Newport News. Siemens hosts four classes of BEAMS students each year. BEAMS has also been replicated by NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center - its Students United with NASA BEAMS, or SUNBEAMS - conducts 20 classes each year.

At JLab a new science education component was introduced early this month. The Friday Physics Fest will be held in the CEBAF Center auditorium on the second Friday of every month for grades three to twelve. In addition, plans are underway to offer local teachers refresher courses in science and math, with Lab-issued certificates of recertification and possible college credits.

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